Yankees Among Best Fits for Top Available Reliever

With five weeks remaining until the MLB trade deadline, Brian Cashman still has plenty of time to upgrade the New York Yankees' roster. Among the biggest needs on the club is help in the bullpen. Manager Aaron Boone could use some fresh arms and Cashman has a couple of quality options to consider.

One of the best relievers on the market is Cardinals right-hander Ryan Helsley. St. Louis has a 30% chance of trading him, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel, who list the Yankees as one of the "best fits" for Helsley. The other teams on that list include the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies Arizona Diamondbacks and Detroit Tigers.

"Helsley had the fourth-best WAR among relievers last season and is in a contract year now but has been notably worse this season," Passan and McDaniel wrote Tuesday. "His stuff and locations are pretty similar, but the main difference is his fastball is getting hit hard -- with one byproduct being his spiking home run rate."

The 30-year-old Helsley is 3-0 with 14 saves and a 3.67 ERA. But he's a two-time All-Star and led the majors last season with a career-best 49 saves. He finished ninth last year in National League Cy Young Award voting and sports a 2.72 ERA over seven MLB seasons.

The other reliever Passan and McDaniel linked to the Yankees as a "best fit" is Los Angeles Angels left-hander Reid Detmers. The other teams on ESPN's list are New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals and Minnesota Twins.

"The No. 10 pick in 2020 transitioned to relief this season and has found some success, similar to other highly drafted college lefties, including A.J. Puk. Andrew Miller and Drew Pomeranz," wrote Passan and McDaniel. "He comes with three more years of control after this season and his velo is up 1.5 mph in the new role, so this might be where he fits long term, and trading him away could fetch a hefty return. Some teams still see Detmers as a starter."

The 25-year-old Detmers is 2-2 with two saves and 4.64 ERA. He's made 30 appearances this year out of the bullpen, but was a full-time starter as recently as last season. Detmers made a career-high 28 starts in 2023 and went 4-10 with a 4.48 ERA.

Passan and McDaniel predict there's just a 15% chance the Angels trade Detmers before the July 31 deadline.

Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more!

• Former Yankees Phenom On Track to Start All-Star Game
• Aging Yankees Reliever Thriving With 'Less Gas'
• Former Yankees Pitcher Very Confident He'll Return This Season
• Insider IDs Yankees Trade Deadline Priority, Possible Targets
• Yankees Fit Rockies Most Interesting Trade Candidate